The best cheesy signing photos of the summer so far

It is always tough during that strange period between a major international tournament and the start of the domestic season; a peculiar interlude not unlike the time between Christmas and New Year, where nobody’s exactly sure quite what they’re supposed to be doing.

Football clubs did their level best to keep us entertained by splashing out on new players this year and they haven’t stopped yet. Seeing your team make signings is second only to watching them play in the entertainment stakes and a long way ahead of speculating about who they should buy. Best of all is the bit when they pose in front of the cameras in the kit for the first time and you know it’s really happening, this is for real, no need to pinch yourself but Phil Bardsley really does now play for Stoke.

Here are our favourite cheesy signing photos of the summer so far.

Lovely stuff from new Liverpool signing Divock Origi in Boston. Cracking curtains/chandelier combo and the Smart car in the background is the icing on an already delicious cake.

An interesting composition, this. The lighting calls to mine the inside of a chill-out room in a club while the full size football goal suggests, well, a football pitch. Hats off to Calum Chambers for going with the Del Boy wine bar pose.

Liverpool’s Dejan Lovren attempting to look nonchalant while hanging out with some football boots. His forced smile seems to say, “Please let me go now.”

Something about all this just seems very ’90s. The scarf, the decrepit training centre that looks like a Portaloo, the jeans. That’s Newcastle’s Daryl Janmaat desperately looking around for his Tamagotchi.

Textbook thumbs up pose from Toni Kroos at Real Madrid, usually reserved for a player undergoing a medical but it does a job in this context too. Really giving the crowd what they want.

Barcelona’s Jeremy Matthieu looks like he’s the captain in a team photo who hasn’t realised nobody else has bothered turning up. Or he’s contemplating how he can possibly only be 30 years of age.

Sunderland’s Will Buckley opts for Statue of Liberty chic.

Beautiful arm work from Newcastle’s Facundo Ferreyra but it’s hard to tell whether this is a signing photo or a massive advert for a couple of things.

Three men, each looking into a different camera. Top marks to Thomas Vermaelen for the oddly terrifying stare. Does it really need that many people to hold up a shirt?

Cesc Fabregas goes for the Chelsea double. It’s an intriguing Russian doll effect and deserves to be applauded even if the hotel room setting is far from ideal. He’s also learned from his mistakes and managed to avoid any badge-kissing antics on this occasion.